I. Intro I will cover the development Central America from its formation as an island arc, explain its development into a land strip, explore theories explaining possible movement in the future and introduce my own hypothesis about subduction reversal. Plate Tectonics is integral to understanding all other areas study, to be able to understand current problems we must always begin at the source. This makes it a worthy topic for research. The study specifically of the Plate Tectonics and Drift of Central America is mostly unknown. It has been rarely studied, and the topic offers few resources. Dr. Siever a Geology Professor at Yale states it best; ̉The history of the Caribbean [is] still an inexplicable geological problem. ̉

III. Becoming a land strip. 1. Caribbean plate subducting under the Pacific Plate. 2. Reversal of subduction. 3. Eastward movement of the Island arc. 4. Island intersection with North America. 5. Ice Age lowers water table to form land bridge. 6. Separation of the Pacific plate. 7. Tectonic condition of Central America today.

V. Explaining the Reversal of Subduction. 1. The subducting lithosphere is pushed backward by the upper mantel movement as the top lithosphere is pulled downward by the mantel movement and is subducted. Causing the top plate to turn into the subducting plate therefore reversing subduction.